Le Régulateur Louis Erard x Konstantin Chaykin
Le Régulateur Louis Erard x Konstantin Chaykin Time-Eater is yet another example of Manuel Emch exploiting the synergies between two creative parties to produce a watch rich in originality and virtue. Working with the acclaimed Russian watchmaker, Konstantin Chaykin, the inventor of the ‘Joker’ watch, Louis Erard has crafted a cyclops-style dial that imparts time in a highly imaginative, yet legible format.
Manuel Emch
Since Manuel Emch joined Louis Erard and assumed the role of ‘Strategist and Artistic Director’ in 2019, the independent brand has ascended to new heights of creativity. In just a few years, Monsieur Emch has collaborated with some of the most acclaimed artisans, designers and watchmakers on the planet. However, what has made this strategy even more interesting is that Emch has somehow persuaded some of these impressive talents, usually accustomed to creating ultra-high end timepieces, to collaborate in the making of some highly accessible watches.
The egalitarian approach to watchmaking has also extended to crafting products incorporating stone dials and embracing rare artisanal crafts such as Grand Feu enamel, hand-guilloché and wooden marquetrie. At times, I’ve scratched my head and simply asked, ‘how’? Likewise, I’m sure some beancounters would probably question, ‘why’? I’ll return to both questions later, but first I need to discuss the latest A-lister to collaborate with the Jura-based brand.
Konstantin Chaykin
Konstantin Chaykin is currently one of the hottest names in the watchsphere. Born in St. Petersburg in 1975, the Russian watchmaker became a member of the AHCI (Académie Horlogère des Créateurs Indépendants) in 2010. This collective of watchmaking talents has some of the most famous practitioners of horology within its ranks and has gained a reputation for being a breeding ground for creativity.
Over the years, Chaykin has conceived ingenious clocks and highly original timepieces. For example, in 2013 he released his Cinema watch featuring a zoopraxiscope. A lens at 6 o’clock revealed a mindblowing animated scene of a horse galloping. Chaykin has also conceived a Shabbat table clock as well as a timepiece featuring a Muslim calendar. Both his ingenuity and watchmaking prowess are widely known to legions of horophiles around the globe.
However, despite already having a reputation for conceiving highly original clocks and watches, Chaykin surprised the watch collecting community in 2017 with the release of his first Wristmom (wrist monsters). The inaugural creation, the Joker, featured a playful visage with two eyes indicating the hours and minutes and a moon-phase indicator that resembled a tongue.
The jovial watch has since been joined by a plethora of additional wrist monsters. Piquing the interest of many horophiles, the demand for the Joker has far outstripped supply. Indeed, Wristmoms are now swapping hands on the secondary market for more than their original selling price.
Louis Erard x Konstantin Chaykin
As a self-confessed admirer of Konstantin Chaykin’s work and a fan of his band of fun-filled Wristmoms, I was delighted to discover that, once again, Louis Erard is making the formerly unattainable, accessible.
Le Régulateur Louis Erard x Konstantin Chaykin is offered in two variants, one featuring a shiny green minute track (42mm in diameter) and a second endowed with a shiny purple minute track (39mm in diameter). On this occasion, the watch eschews one eye, culminating in a cyclops-style aesthetic. The lone eye indicates the hour using a combination of a rotating disc and a static hour track.
An elongated serpentine-style hand indicates the minutes with a finger-like tip. A black star-shaped disc, framed with a red circlet, indicates the running seconds.
The dial’s epidermis is enlivened with a ‘sunray wave pattern’, while the names of both firms is presented at 6 o’clock and noon. Although, Le Régulateur Louis Erard x Konstantin Chaykin embraces an unconventional means of indicating the hours, minutes and seconds, it remains eminently simple to read. Lastly, a sumptuous black toad leather strap with colour-co-ordinating accents (green or purple) affixes the watch to the wrist.
The secret to Louis Erard’s success
Housed in a stainless steel case, Le Régulateur Louis Erard x Konstantin Chaykin shares some components with other Louis Erard models. For example, the case and the self-winding movement recently featured on the brand’s Excellence Marquetry watch.
By using a series of common parts across several references, Louis Erard is able to enjoy economies of scale, sharing the potential cost savings with its customers. However, such an approach does not inhibit creativity as each reference has its own unique appearance. By adopting this strategy, Louis Erard is able to deliver a high-quality price ratio while captivating audiences with thought-provoking designs.
Economists will inevitably talk of ‘supply and demand’, describing a situation where the market determines the prevailing price. While this theory is based on a perfect market, it still provides a framework when looking at the availability and pricing of goods.
In the field of watches, brands often ‘sell-in’ vast quantities of products to their retail distributors without always giving consideration to ‘sell-out’. This latter term is used to describe the process of retailers selling watches to the public. This creates a situation where products often languish on retailers’ shelves, accumulating dust and tying-up valuable capital. It also causes a bottle-neck for the watch brands as they are also left holding large stocks.
Louis Erard prefers to produce small quantities of products. Indeed, many timepieces produced by the company are limited-editions. This has led to a situation where demand has repeatedly outstripped supply. Economists would expect the Swiss marque to increase its prices, exploiting the pent up demand. However, Louis Erard has chosen to sell its products at keen prices, preferring to ‘sell-out’ in the blink of an eye.
Both limited edition Le Régulateur Louis Erard x Konstantin Chaykin variants, each limited to 178 pieces, are offered for a keen asking price of CHF 4,000, excluding taxes. Alternatively, the brand also offers a special box set, containing both versions of the watch, limited to 28 sets, for CHF 7,900, excluding taxes.
As an increasing number of brand devotees have discovered, the quality and originality of Louis Erard’s watches is very high and yet they remain accessibly priced. Where the economists are vindicated is that pre-owned Louis Erard models, due to their limited availability, are fetching more than their new counterparts. No doubt this latter situation only serves to heighten desirability.
Closing Remarks
Like many watch obsessives, I’ve often looked longingly at métiers d’art pieces, mesmerised by the exquisite craftsmanship manifest, but I’ve always been resigned to the fact that they would forever be beyond my financial reach. However, as stated earlier, Louis Erard has gained a reputation for making the once unattainable, accessible to a much wider audience.
With the waiting list for Konstantin Chaykin models reaching far into the distance and pre-owned examples attracting huge premiums, I’ve long been resigned to never owning a watch bearing the name of the Russian genius. However, thanks to Louis Erard, there is now the opportunity to wear a Chaykin-branded watch, a mouthwatering prospect for many watch fanatics around the globe, albeit laggards will inevitably be disappointed.
Further reading
Louis Erard Swiss Mechanical Watches
Technical specifications
- Model: Le Régulateur Louis Erard x Konstantin Chaykin
- Ref. 85237AA88
- Case: stainless steel, diameter 42 mm, height 12.25mm, water resistance 5ATM (50m), sapphire crystal to the front and exhibition case back.
- Functions: hours, minutes, small seconds
- Movement: Sellita SW261-1 calibre, self-winding movement, frequency 28,800 vph (4Hz), 31 jewels, power reserve 38 hours
- Strap: black toad leather with green attachment points, green rabbit leather lining, polished stainless steel pin buckle, functional catch spring bars enabling the strap to changed quickly
- Price: CHF 4,000 excluding taxes (RRP as of 24.4.2023)
- Limited Edition: 178 pieces
- Model: Le Régulateur Louis Erard x Konstantin Chaykin
- Ref. 85248AA89
- Case: stainless steel, diameter 39 mm, height 12.25mm, water resistance 5ATM (50m), sapphire crystal to the front and exhibition case back.
- Functions: hours, minutes, small seconds
- Movement: Sellita SW261-1 calibre, self-winding movement, frequency 28,800 vph (4Hz), 31 jewels, power reserve 38 hours
- Strap: black toad leather with purple attachment points, purple rabbit leather lining, polished stainless steel pin buckle, functional catch spring bars enabling the strap to changed quickly
- Price: CHF 4,000 (RRP as of 24.4.2023)
- Limited Edition: 178 pieces
- Model: Le Diptyque Louis Erard x Konstantin Chaykin
- Ref. 22222AA88
- Special box set, 28 pieces
- Price: CHF 7,900 excluding taxes (RRP as of 24.4.2023)
